Manu S. Pillai | |
|---|---|
 Pillai in 2020 | |
| Born | 1990 (age 33–34) Mavelikkara, Kerala, India |
| Occupation | Writer, historian |
| Language | English |
| Alma mater | Fergusson College King's College London |
| Genre | Popular history |
| Website | |
| manuspillai | |
Manu S. Pillai (born 1990) is an Indian writer and popular historian. [1] He is known for his works covering the history of India from late medieval through colonial times, with his debut book, The Ivory Throne , focusing on the Travancore monarchy.
Manu S. Pillai was born in Mavelikkara, Kerala in 1990, and grew up in Pune. [2] He received a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Fergusson College and a Master's Degree in International Relations from King's College London. [3]
Following his education, he worked with the Parliamentary office of Shashi Tharoor in New Delhi and Lord Karan Bilimoria in London. [4] He also worked as a researcher on the BBC Radio 4 series, Incarnations with Sunil Khilnani, which tells the story of India through fifty great lives. In 2017, he became a full time historian and writer. [2] [3] He holds a PhD in history from King's College London. [5]
Pillai's debut book The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore , about Rani Sethu Lakshmi Bhay's reign as the regent of Travancore, earned him the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2017. [6] [7] [8] As of 2019, [update] the story was expected to be adapted into a web series by Arka Mediaworks. [9]
Rebel Sultans, Pillai's second work, narrates the story of the late medieval Deccan over four centuries. [3] The Courtesan, the Mahatma and the Italian Brahmin is a collection published in 2019 consisting of historical anecdotes originally published as columns in various Indian newspapers. [10]
Pillai's 2021 book False Allies concerns the rulers of princely states during the British Raj, focusing on five states whose rulers patronized and were painted by Raja Ravi Varma. [1] In Gods, Guns and Missionaries, first released in India in 2024, Pillai outlines the history of Hinduism during India's colonization by Christian European states. [11]
Malayalam, the lingua franca of the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puduchery, is one of the six classical languages of India. Malayalam literature comprises those literary texts written in Malayalam, a South-Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala. The first travelogue in any Indian language is the Malayalam Varthamanappusthakam, written by Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar in 1785. Malayalam literature has been presented with 6 Jnanapith awards, the second-most for any Dravidian language and the third-highest for any Indian language.
Shashi Tharoor is an Indian politician, writer, and former diplomat, who has been serving as Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, since 2009. He is currently the Chairman of Committee on External Affairs. He was formerly an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and unsuccessfully ran for the post of Secretary-General in 2006. Founder-Chairman of All India Professionals Congress, he formerly served as Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs and on Informational Technology. He has about two dozen titles to his credit and was awarded by World Economic Forum as "Global Leader of Tomorrow".
Kerala Varma Valiya Koil Thampuran ; 19 February 1845 – 22 September 1914) also spelt Kerala Varma Valiya Koilthampuran and known as Kerala Varma, was a Malayalam - language poet and translator who had an equal facility in writing in English and Sanskrit from the Indian state of Kerala. He was a prince of Parappanad, and consort to the Senior Rani of Attingal and Maharani of Travancore, Bharani Thirunal Lakshmi Bayi, intended to father future sovereigns of Travancore, although the couple was childless, necessitating the adoption of Lakshmi Bayi's grand-nieces. Kerala Varma is also known as the Kalidasa of Kerala, and was both brother-in-law and cousin to painter Raja Ravi Varma, also a prince of Parappanad, though from the Kilimanoor branch, whom he presented with his first oil paints. A third Parappanad prince, his grammarian nephew A. R. Raja Raja Varma, is known as the Panini of Kerala.
Akathoot Balakrishna Pillai (1889–1960), better known as Kesari Balakrishna Pillai, was a Malayalam writer, art and literary critic and journalist, considered by many as one of the most influential thinkers of modern Kerala. He was the eponymous founder of the newspaper, Kesari and was one of the three major figures in modern Malayalam literary criticism, along with Joseph Mundassery and M. P. Paul. Besides works such as Kesariyude Lokangal, Navalokam, Sankethika Nirupanangal Sahitya Nirupanangal, Rupamanjari, he also wrote a text in English under the title, Outlines of the Proto-Historic Chronology of Western Asia.
Pooradam Thirunal Sethu Lakshmi Bayi CI was the monarch, though designated as the Regent due to British policy, of the Kingdom of Travancore in southern India between 1924 and 1931. She, along with her younger cousin, Moolam Thirunal Sethu Parvathi Bayi, were adopted into the Travancore royal family and were the granddaughters of the celebrated painter, Raja Ravi Varma.
Ulloor S. Parameswara Iyer, born Sambasivan but popularly known as Ulloor, was an Indian poet of Malayalam literature and a historian. He was one of the modern triumvirate poets of Kerala in the first half of the 20th century, along with Kumaran Asan and Vallathol Narayana Menon. Umakeralam, a mahakavya, and Kerala Sahitya Charitram, a comprehensive history of the Malayalam language are two of his most important works.
Cannankara Velayudhan Raman Pillai, also known as C. V., was one of the major Indian novelists and playwrights and a pioneering playwright and novelist of Malayalam literature. He was known for his historical novels such as Marthandavarma, Dharmaraja and Ramaraja Bahadur; the last mentioned considered by many as one of the greatest novels written in Malayalam.
The Travancore royal family was the ruling house of the Kingdom of Travancore. The Travancore royal family signed a treaty with the British in 1788, thereby adopting British dominance. Later, in 1805, they revised the treaty, leading to a diminution of royal authority and the loss of political independence for Travancore. They had to give up their ruling rights over the common people in 1949 when Travancore were forced to merge with Independent India and their political pension privileges were abolished in 1971.
V. Madhusoodanan Nair is an Indian poet and critic of Malayalam literature, who is credited with contributions in popularizing poetry through recitation. He is best known for Naranathu Bhranthan, the poem with the most editions in Malayalam literature as well as his music albums featuring recitations of his own poems and poems of other major poets. Kerala Sahitya Akademi honoured him with their annual award for poetry in 1993. He is also a recipient many other honours including Sahitya Akademi Award, Asan Smaraka Kavitha Puraskaram, Padmaprabha Literary Award, Kunju Pillai Award, R. G. Mangalom Award, Souparnikatheeram Prathibhapuraskaram and Janmashtami Puraskaram.
Kainikkara Kumara Pillai (1900–1988) was an Indian teacher, actor, short story writer, essayist and playwright of Malayalam literature, best known for his plays such as Harichandra, Mathruka Manushyan and Mohavum, Mukhtiyum. He was the younger brother of Kainikkara Padmanabha Pillai, a noted author and thinker. An author of 18 books, Kumara Pillai was awarded the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama in 1970. The Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi inducted him as a distinguished fellow in 1975 followed by the Kerala Sahitya Akademi in 1986.
C. N. Sreekantan Nair (1928–1976) was an Indian independence activist, a Malayalam writer, short story writer, playwright and screenwriter, best known for his Ramayana trilogy – Kanchana Sita, Saketham and Lankalakshmi. He wrote 10 plays, 4 short story anthologies, book of non-fiction and collected works. Kerala Sahitya Akademi awarded him their annual award for drama in 1962. He was also a recipient of the M. P. Paul Prize.
Omchery N. N. Pillai was an Indian Malayalam–language playwright, novelist and poet from Kerala. He wrote nine full-length plays, more than 80 one-act plays and a few novels. His plays are noted for their bold experiments in form and technique as well as the uncommon vision inherent in many of the themes. Pillai won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award twice: in 1972 for the play Pralayam and in 2010 for his overall contribution to Malayalam literature. In 2022, he was honoured with Kerala Prabha Award, second highest civilian award given by the Kerala Government.
Gopala Pillai Sankara Pillai, better known as G. Sankara Pillai, was an Indian playwright, literary critic, and director, known to be one of the pioneers of modern Malayalam theatre. A proponent of total theater, he was the founder of Nataka Kalari movement in Kerala and the chairman of the Kerala Sangeeta Nataka Akademi. He was a recipient of a number of awards including the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Drama in 1964 for the work Rail Palangal and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for the best playwright in 1979.
Mulakkaram, literally translated as breast tax, was a poll tax imposed on women belonging to Nadar, Ezhava and other lower caste communities by the erstwhile Kingdom of Tranvancore, and was not applicable to upper caste women of Travancore. The term "breast tax" was used to denote the gender of the person and not breasts per se.
The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore is a 2016 fictional historical book by Indian writer Manu S. Pillai. It covers the journey of Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, during her reign in the house of Travancore. The book came into the hands of Shobu Yarlagadda, producer of the Baahubali franchise, and optioned the rights under Arka Media Works, a noted Indian motion-picture production company.
Juggernaut Books is a publisher headquartered in New Delhi, India. Starting with digital books distributed via its website and mobile apps, it turned to publishing physical books later.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
  | This article about an Indian writer or poet is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
